Commissioned by InfiniteChaosRai
Who Da Boss Lady?
Chapter 42
-VB-
Unfortunately for Serafall and the rest of the Underworld under the rule of the Four Satans, abyssal contamination readings wasn’t taken only by them but also by the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Youkai Faction, and the Gotei 13 of the Soul Society.
All had claims or “responsibilities” in the area as well as personnel who had been close enough to observe the fight.
All three found similar readings.
But none of the three knew who this void taint had come from.
Considering that the void tended to leave behind massive casualties or masquerade breaking events, all three independently decided - without each others’ awareness of the issue - to send in their investigators.
Irina Shoudo hummed as she set the groceries down and prepared to make dinner.
She had arrived in Japan just a day ago, and she was admiring the changes and lack of changes that she managed to find. Due to a lack of Church support in Japan, a lot of menial tasks had to be performed by one of their numbers. She volunteered for it because she wanted to see how Kuoh had changed in the years that she had not been here. And if she could find her childhood friend, then that was all the better, wasn’t it?
Unfortunately, she hasn’t had the time to go looking for them yet because she was doing a lot of work.
First off, it was the grocery shopping she just did. Second, she would cook and serve the meals (only breakfast and dinner). Third, she would get in contact with the Church for weekly funds (she only did this every Saturday). Four, she would contact any of the local Churches to see if they had seen anything. Five, she would ensure that her fellow exorcists knew what to do and what not to do in Japan as well as cultural and religious reconciliation for those actions so that they can understand it. Six, she would compile the report she received and schedule which of her squadmate would scout which area for the following day.
And while she did all of this, her squadmates would physically scour their assigned areas while adhering to the rules she set up.
Of course, the rules were only for civilian interactions. Once the Moonlit World was involved, then they all defaulted to the Church’s current stance on Japanese Moonlit World.
Don’t Attack, Only React.
She -.
Ring ring.
She paused and walked over to where she had left her flip phone. She picked it up thinking it was going to be either her superior or her squadmates… but instead, she found a number she didn’t expect to hear from.
According to her teacher’s notebooks, this phone number belonged to a Moonlit World mercenary she knew. Someone dangerous but definitely worth meeting.
She picked it up.
“Um… Moshi moshi?”
“Good afternoon, Exorcist Shidou,” a baritone voice echoed out from the phone’s speaker. “I have been hearing that you and your fellow exorcists have been … investigating something in Kuoh Town. Is this true?”
“... Would you like to introduce yourself first?” she tried.
“Ah. My apologies. I am called Senjo Join locally.”
Yup, this was the dangerous mercenary she had been warned about. He was supposed to be in retirement but had made it known to his “colleagues” that he would take any sniffing about in his home as a sign of hostile intent.
… Was Kuoh Town his home?
“We are, Join. We have received reports of a corrosive agent.”
“You mean void.”
She froze.
He … already knew about it?
“Ah. It seems that you are unaware of the situation in Kuoh Town right now.”
He knew she had frozen.
She slowly turned to look at the only window out of this temp rental apartment unit.
There was a very dim red light on it, not moving at all.
“And you are very good at taking context clues. Impressive. Usually, exorcists of your age are not so versed in subtlety. Well done. Now, Kuoh Town is not in your jurisdiction, so I can go and report your presence to both the Eastern Youkai Faction and the Underworld. Unless you would like to tell me what you intend to do if you find the void?”
“... To report back. That is the only order I have received,” she replied as a sweat dripped down her neck.
Grisela had been very thorough about the threats she might face in Japan. This … Join was one of the worst ones for her to encounter.
Bullets dipped in Curses.
Traps meant to cripple but not kill teammates.
Traps that would then activate to take out the allies trying to rescue downed teammates.
Knives carved from the bones of Angels.
Knowledge on things he shouldn’t know.
And the worst thing possible: once the hunt began, there was very little room for negotiation.
Of all people in Japan, this was the one of the few people she didn’t want to be in combat against. Because even if she and her exorcist teammates were stronger than this man, one of them would die if not all of them.
The last exorcist team - a Fallen team but still an exorcist team - renowned for their combat prowess against the darker creatures of the Moonlit World that crossed this man never left Japan again.
If he already had their base of operation scoped out and laser sighted, then it meant he already knew their movements. Possibly lip-reading. Possibly bugged the entire place.
As her mind began to descend into the worse and worse possibilities about how this would turn out, the laser dot … disappeared.
“If you aren’t here to fight, then I have no issue with you.”
And then the call ended.
She remained standing there for a full minute before she finally allowed herself to relax.
And whimpered.
She just came very close to dying, didn’t she?
The door creaked open, and she looked up. She saw
-VB-
He visited the snoopers from the Eastern Youkai Faction as well.
As for the Shinigami, those two weren’t individuals he could even hope to fight.
Sato let out a frustrated sigh.
His daughter caused more problems everyday. Honestly, if she hadn’t been his daughter, then he might have “taken care” of her himself. Because a girl who went out of her way to nearly break the masquerade so frequently was more trouble than she was worth.
Alas, she was his daughter, and that meant he needed to help her.
Even if that meant possibly making himself an enemy of the Church.
Because of all the people currently prowling the streets of Kuoh Town, they represented the most conservative and hostile faction for Mari.
Because the Heavenly Host and the Church were the foremost authority on anti-void operations around the globe.
And his Mari and the troublemaker Venalita were both Void Touched.
So why didn’t he kill those exorcists? Because he knew that killing them would bring down even more heat than just letting them report back. It was the best choice he could make, but it was one that would still lead to the Church getting involved in Kuoh Town. Of course, once the Church got involved in a Devil’s territory, those two were bound to clash. Things would get heated, and there would be a higher chance that someone in his family could be hurt.
And this didn’t even include what the Shinigamis would do.
They had been aware of this already. The two Shinigamis most familiar to the mortal world were in town, after all. But they haven’t been moving against Mari-chan or furthering their investigation. On top of that, they were too strong for him to do anything about. Even observing them would be difficult.
The Underworld definitely knew, considering he had Satan Leviathan in his house and all.
But unlike the Church and the Shinigamis, he knew what they wanted.
Mari-chan, as far as Satan Leviathan was concerned, was the most stable Void Touched.
To that monster, his daughter was a potential tool - or ally - that they could use as a deterrent. Or a tool of war.
But it was the faction least likely to cause Mari-chan problems either.
The problem then … was Venalita.
That thing was missing in action. It hasn’t been in the house for close to a month now.
And if it wasn’t here being observed, then it was elsewhere causing problems. And the more void taint that it left behind, the more the rest of the Moonlit World would become aware of Mari.
Once the news got out, sooner or later, someone was going to do something stupid.
As much as he wanted to get rid of the problem, he also knew that the source of the problem, Venalita, was not something he could do anything about.
Sato sighed again. He missed the times when he didn’t have these kinds of impossible problems. He stashed the sniper rifle - a custom Dragunov - underneath the floors of his car’s trunk.
He looked down at his wristwatch.
“Drats. My lunch break time ran out,” he mumbled as he quickly got into the driver’s seat before driving off to work.